Apple Messages for Business (AMB) - Integrate AMB

Before taking these steps, please notify your iAdvize account team and consult the Messages for Business integration summary below.

All the steps explained in this article must be strictly followed.

If you encounter any difficulties with this setup, please contact Apple support and customer service.

This article, written in August 2023, is based on Apple documentation issued at that date. Despite the care we take to keep our Knowledge Base up to date, synchronisation with Apple information is not automatic.

AMB-Onboarding.png Source Image Copyright © 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Create a Messages for Business account

Registering your Messages for Business account requires the following actions:

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Source Image Copyright © 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

1.1 Register your organisation 

1.2 Create your Messages for Business account

 

  • Accept the Business Chat Policies

 

Then, configure your account by filling in :
  • The name of your organization
  • The e-mail address of your website
  • The address of your head office

 



You can choose to create a test account and/or then a production account. Here we choose to create a test account, to which we give the name "Compte de test".

In the case of the creation of a classic account, choose "Commercial account".


Select a Technical contact from your registered members on register.apple.com. If you do not find the right contact in the drop-down menu, you will need to create this contact from the main menu.

 

AMB-New-chat-account.png

1.3 Upload your corporate identity

Still in the account area, in the Brand Identity section, choose : 

  • A square version of your logo: this is the one that will be displayed in your users' message list.
  • A rectangular version of your logo: this is the one that will be displayed to the user in the conversation header
  • The background color of your header
  • The color of the buttons ("back" and "information")

1.4 Customise your brand page

This page appears to the visitor who clicks on (i) in your conversation header.

 

You can customise : 

  • The brand name that will be displayed to the visitor
  • The responsiveness displayed to visitors from a list proposed by Apple
    • In the Live Agent Response Hours section, you can select your Time Zone as well as your opening days and hours.
  • Your phone number (optional): if this field is filled in, a "Call" button will be displayed on your map.
  • Your website url (optional): if filled in, a Website button will be displayed on your map.
  • Your business sector: you can select several business sectors from the list provided by Apple.

1.5 Select your Messaging Service Provider (MSP)

Once you've created your new account on Apple, or if an account already exists, enter the space for the account you wish to configure.

In the Messaging Service Provider menu, click on Edit.

In the drop-down menu, type "iAdvize" and select iAdvize. Click Done.

1.6 Validate account registration with Apple

Once you've created your Apple account, you'll need to submit it to Apple for validation.

This process takes from 1 to 7 days (iAdvize cannot intervene in this procedure).

1.7 Provide backup contacts for your account

1.8 Test the connection 

Then, on the main page of your Business Account, go to the Messaging Service Provider section,

Click on "Test your Messaging Service Provider connection".

 

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On the page that opens, click on the blue "Connect" button.
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Clicking on Connect will open a landing page shared between Apple and iAdvize. On this page, you'll need to enter your iAdvize credentials. 

Once you've entered your credentials correctly, validate. 

The list of iAdvize projects for which you are administrator is displayed. Make sure you are the administrator of the iAdvize project (sid) you are interested in.

To create a connection, you must have access to the e-mail address associated with the account used to connect. If you are connecting from the administration area, you must choose one of the accounts that has access to the email.

Click on connect the project to which you wish to connect your Apple Business Account.

Once you've finished, you'll see your Apple Messages for Business account appear a few minutes later in iAdvize.

To do this, go to Engagement > Settings > Apple Messages For Business.

 

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Your iAdvize project is now associated with your Apple Messages for Business account.

You can now proceed to the next steps.

2. Plan your visitors' experience

Based on your objectives and use cases, implement interactive features (e.g. Quick Replies, List pickers, etc.) in your customer journey.

Plan entry points to better engage customers.

3. Design your customer experience

Place a button to offer your customers an easy way to access your support. 

Integrate a satisfaction questionnaire with List-Picker functionality. For best practices, see our article: Measure visitor satisfaction on third-party channels. 

Set up a welcome and pre-qualification bot on the Apple Messages for Business channel.

iAdvize bots are compatible with Apple Messages for Business.

You can therefore create your bot directly via the Bot Builder.

4. Validate the experience with Apple

Before you can begin reviewing the experience, you need to perform quality assurance on your experience. Your account must meet Apple's requirements. Correct any problems listed in Apple's report.

NB: The "Search" entry point may not appear depending on the device and/or its content on which the test will be performed.

5. Proceed to launch 

Inform your Apple Messages for Business team of your desired launch date and time, so they can coordinate the activation of entry points.

Complete the following launch tasks to ensure your brand is ready to welcome customers.